First time handle making Questions

A

amp281

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Sep 17, 2012
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I have an Ontario SP-2 Airforce knife that I removed the rubber handle from. I purchased a brass guard that fits very closely to the tang (required some filing before I hammered it on and then jbwelded) and a 2x2x6" block of bocote wood that I plan to use as my handle material. I also have two brass pins that I will be using to attach to the two holes in the tang.

Currently the jbweld is curing on the brass guard (with 10 lbs of weight lifting plates on top of it to press it down, the blade is hanging tip down on a cord from its tang).

I plan to drill 3-4 holes into the bocote then chisel out a slot for my tang.

The only question I really have with this is I am wondering when to drill and attach the pins in this process: a) before I shape the wood down to a handle shape b) after the wood is roughly handle shaped

and should I epoxy the the handle on first then drill the pin holes and epoxy the pins in?

Thanks.
 
There are multiple ways to go about doing anything.
Lots of people rough shape before attaching but I like to do it after. I do it afterwards because it's easier to get an idea of how I need to shape it if I can hold it in my hand with the blade attached. It's also handy to be able to clamp the blade in a vice while working on the handle.

As for the pins; I always drill and install hardware after gluing the handle material on. I'm paranoid about pin holes not lining up and they'll always line up if you glue the handles on first. In a full tang knife that means gluing one side on, drilling, gluing the other side on, drilling again, then gluing in the corbys.

The SP-2 is a hidden tang, correct? If so, does it already have holes for pins?
 
Yep. Hidden tang. Its a fairly large stick tang. Two holes already, one hole is slightly smaller than the other. The small hole was the lanyard on the stock handle.. I have two size brass rod that fit it. Are you suggesting I cut my block of wood in half down the center with the tang to be installed in the center? I was planning on installin the handle as a single block of wood with a hole for the hidden tang, but that would of course make drilling the pin holes more difficult.

Thanks!
 
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No, I'm not suggesting you cut your wood in half, I was just describing how I do it with a full tang knife. I wasn't sure if the SP-2 was full tang or hidden/stick.

One of the obstacles you'll have with a hidden tang is trying to line up your drill bit with the holes in the tang. If that tang is fully hardened (I assume it is) then you're not going to be able to drill through it. That means your drill bit either has to line up perfectly with the tang hole (which I don't know how to do), you anneal the tang so you can drill through it and the wood at the same time, or your drill bit and your pins need to be a smaller diameter than your tang holes. A smaller diameter bit will give you some room for error.
If you go with a smaller hole/pin then it may be best to mark where your holes needs to be and drill the holes before gluing. That way you can check that they line up before the wood is permanently attached. Check the fit, then fill the holes with clay before gluing. You'll have to clean the holes out (re drill) after the glue cures.
 
You could shim and clamp the blade of the knife solidly to your drill presses table and then adjust the clamping and table so that the drill bit lines up with the hole. Then slide the handle piece on and carefully shim under it a bit and drill the first hole. Remove handle material realign drill for second hole and then reinstall the handle and pin the first hole, then drill the second. Would take time and solid clamping. If the tang is soft enough to drill new holes you could do that with the Bocote still as block. Once the holes are drilled you can remove the pins and rough shape the outside of the handle, then glue and pin and finish.

Drilling some holes for inserting the tang first is ok, but rather than chisel use a scraper tool. A long thin bar with a couple saw like teeth on the end that cut/scrape as you pull it through the hole. Similar to this http://www.texasknife.com/vcom/product_info.php?cPath=884_931&products_id=3973
 
Thank you guys!!!.. Just the information I needed. I will absorb and composite the info you guys give me and see if I can figure this out with my limited tool selection (I have more mechanics tools than i do wood craft tools) No drill press sadly but I already ruined one of my two $6 blocks of bocote (so no big deal) with a broken drill bit from my hand drill (it bound deep in there, broke off when I used a vice grip on it). Might hold off on project until I get a drill press if I ruin the second block.

I might also skip the tang pins, its intimidating me a bit even though I would like the peace of mind of having some more reinforcement in there since this is going to be a 100% functional heavy duty camping/work knife theme like how it was originally. My plan was going to be drill tang slot. Test fit the knife and get an idea of where the tang sits as best as I can, drill the holes for the pins, hope and see if they line up, glue the handle to the tang, then insert the pins. I am very scared I will miss the holes in the tang. The other idea I have is to just get a third piece of wood in a different color for contrast, butterfly one of my bocote blocks and then cut a tang strip in the different wood, glue and clamp each of the bocote sides to it, so its like a 3 layered handle. I just wanted the aesthetic of a 100% hidden tang in a seamless block of wood

The guard is on there to stay. JB weld set and I tested its strength with a hammer. Its never coming off :)
 
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If your glue job is good then you probably won't need pins. Personally I'd like to have one in there. Go slow and get the tang to fit the wood as good as you possibly can. If it doesn't wiggle much then you should be able to lay the tang on the side of the block and mark a hole. If it wiggles a lot you may be able to bed the tang in the handle depending on what shape the tang is then you'd have a perfect fit.

Check out Nick Wheeler's WIP:
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...-s-Steel-*-Stuck-in-the-metal-with-you/page14
He fits the handle on page 14 and the handle glue up is on page 17.
 
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